Materials handling pallets and trays are commonly used to transport a wide variety of products in bulk quantities. Pallets are typically rectangular-shaped boxes that are configured to support loads without significant deformation or structural failure. Although many pallets are constructed from wood, plastic pallets are becoming increasingly popular. Plastic pallets can support heavier loads, are impervious to rot and infestation and are less flammable than conventional wooden pallets.
Most traditional pallets incorporate a number of top slats supported by a number of risers that are in turn, supported by a base. In this way, the weight of the load is transferred from the top slats to the base through the risers. The risers are usually configured to permit the introduction of the arms of a forklift or pallet jack below the pallet top. While being lifted or moved, the weight of the load is transferred directly from the top to the arms of the forklift or jack.
Although widely accepted, traditional pallets suffer two significant shortcomings. First, without modifications, traditional pallets offer very little lateral support for stacked loads. For loads that include flexible or semi-rigid containers, the lack of lateral support can cause the load to slump, fall or slide from the pallet.
Second, traditional pallet designs require the use of forklifts to raise, lower and move the palleted load. In many locations, the absence of a trailer-high loading dock frustrates the ability to position a forklift or truck adjacent a pallet located within the interior of a trailer. In those locations, workers typically wrap a chain around the base of the pallet or load and then pull the pallet to the edge of the trailer, where it can be unloaded from the trailer by a forklift positioned on the ground. Traditional pallets are not designed to withstand the stress, abrasion, uneven twisting torque and jerking of being pulled along the floor of a trailer by a chain. When moved in this manner, traditional pallets often fail, causing the stacked load to fall.
Thus, there continues to be a need for a safer, more stable pallet. It is to these and other deficiencies in the prior art that the present invention is directed.